Most woman travelers I know, and not a few men, always feel like they are losing the armrest wars. I know personally, as a relatively small woman, most men I seated next to me automatically take the armrest over.
And yes, there is some practical reason to let the largest person have the armrest. Some say let the person in the middle seat, if there is one, have the elbow space. (There’s no easy way to know who paid the most for their ticket, but we probably don’t need class warfare in economy class anyway.)
But for whatever reason you lose your space, that doesn’t mean it’s not annoying. Especially when someone’s taking over the armrest is often a precursor to taking over actual room in your seat area.
On the other hand, for those of us who are conflict-adverse, it’ can be hard to speak up and say, “Excuse me, that’s my armrest too.” Especially when they are bigger than you.
Now, a new invention may someday change all that, called the “Paperclip Armrest Concept.”
The device was invented by James Lee, 25, from Hong Kong, who now works as a management trainee with Cathay Pacific. It’s a double-level armrest, that allows two arms to be in the same vertical space, almost like train couchettes.
The idea is only patent-pending at this point, and cash-strapped airlines are not likely to be spending a ton of money to upgrade their cabins anytime soon, but it has potential. If nothing else it might change the armrest battle from “yours or mine” to “top or bottom?”
